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Five Keys for Finding Love, Theosophical Style

November 07, 2011 (22:26) by Carolyn Romano

November 2011

Is it possible to ask an organization to completely transform itself and still stay true to its mission? Let me tell you, it is no easy task. But that is what a group of us is doing at the Theosophical Society in Boston right now; we are seeking a transformation from the inside out and the outside in. Our goal is to realize a vision of ours of a beautiful, well-maintained space that is in vibrational alignment with our commitment to be an enduring center for spiritual seekers. In doing so, we protect an institution that has been operating in Boston since 1922 and in existence since 1875, the year in which Helena P. Blavatsky began the modern theosophical movement in New York City when she published writings which proclaimed that certain truths could be found in common in all great religions throughout the world.

As I contemplate the changes occurring within the organization, I realize that our vision for the Theosophical Society is not unlike the vision one might have for a much sought after, loving relationship: a beautiful, well-maintained “space” that is in vibrational alignment with two people’s commitment to endure.  I am struck by the similarity and since my own spiritual practice is largely steeped in native American traditions, I turn to my now worn Sacred Path cards to offer their wisdom. 

I draw five cards: Drum, Medicine Bowl, West Shield, East Shield, and Council Fire. It doesn’t take me long to see how these five cards are essential keys to finding and making a love connection, whether one is in pursuit of personal love, partner love, or the planetary love that is not unlike “forming a nucleus of Universal Humanity without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color” that is the first objective of the modern Theosophical Society. 

1. The Drum represents rhythm and internal timing and connects us to the constancy of our own heartbeats and the heartbeat of Mother Earth. It is about being in sync with our lives and in touch with our heart’s desires. It’s that “vibrational alignment” piece I spoke of earlier in this article.

Essential Key to Finding Love #1: To have right relationship with another, we must first find and own ourselves and our rhythms.  

2. The Medicine Bowl is the symbol for healing. It asks us to heal our fear and replace it with trust. It calls for us to be willing to feel our emotions and to be willing to question the void. It urges us to rely on Spirit to support us in our individual healing, i.e., achieving wholeness of self. 

Essential Key to Finding Love #2: Another person will not and cannot complete us; we must heal and fill our own “wholes.”

3. The West Shield asks us to go within, to enter the silence and listen, to become introspective with the aim of identifying our goals, our vision.  What is it that we are truly seeking, in this case, in love and relationship? And in this five-card spread, West Shield is also asking us to move toward completion of any healing that was left unfinished from our Medicine Bowl work. 

Essential Key to Finding Love #3:  We must get quiet so that we can hear in great detail everything it is we need to find who and what we seek—whether that is self, soulmate, or service.

4. The East Shield supports us to stand fully in our power, and without apology, to declare “This is who I am, and this is what I seek to create.” Indeed, “personal knowing” is the keynote of this card and offers us the opportunity to allow all that has gone before to be seen with utter clarity both for what it was and for what it was not. It asks us to take responsibility for our role in past situations and current circumstances. It is a card that supports shedding the old skins of habits and patterns which no longer serve in favor of greater alignment with our essence. This is destiny work right here. 

Essential Key to Finding Love #4: We must present our authentic self to the world so that we may be seen as we truly are and so that we may offer our gifts which are uniquely ours to give. This “exposure” allows us to be met by another’s authentic self and to receive their unique gifts in return.

5. Finally, the Council Fire represents the decisions and options which are laid before us if we have availed ourselves of the teachings of the prior four cards. We are now ready to take our next step from wholeness and a full sense of self. This is a powerful position from which to operate. Making sound decisions that create real change and forward motion requires the type of total honesty with ourselves and with each other that only comes when we trust Spirit and do the work recommended by Drum, Medicine Bowl, and West and East Shields.  

Essential Key to Finding Love #5: We must commit to ongoing honesty with ourselves, stay true to our mission (right relationship, not just any relationship!), and allow our truth to protect us.

And these keys certainly unlock many doors at the Theosophical Society ("the TS") as we undergo this transformation, create the next iteration of ourselves, and fully realize our vision of that “beautiful, well-maintained, vibrationally aligned, enduring center for spiritual seekers” that I mentioned at the outset. The time for these changes is now, and we are finally in sync with our identity (Drum).  We have collectively examined our fears, stared into a number of voids, and been willing to TRUST that we are being supported to reinvigorate and restore the TS’s vitality (Medicine Bowl).

With the support of West Shield, our group has entered the silence both together and separately for guidance on our goals and how to achieve them; then East Shield illuminated our path so that we could shed limiting habits and patterns and reach for new ways of being that are more in line with the essential nature of the TS. Finally, all of this work has allowed us to take steps toward right relationship with our mission and right action as a result (Council Fire).

So now I end where I began with the question, “Is it possible for an organization to completely transform itself and still stay true to its mission?  The answer is one last essential key for your consideration.

Essential Key to Finding the TS: We must completely transform to remain true to our mission of exploration, of compassion, of acceptance. 

Won’t you join us?

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The Theosophical Society in Boston is a center of learning where people can explore, with freedom of thought and inquiry, many philosophies and spiritual practices. The TS offers a wide range of lectures, workshops, study groups and meditation practices. Our vision is to make spiritual knowledge available to all seekers. For more information and a calendar of events, visit www.tsboston.org. 

Carolyn Romano is the current President of the Theosophical Society. She owns and operates Bliss Healing Arts where she helps individuals, groups, and organizations create balance, abundance, and joy.  For more information, see www.blisshealingarts.com.